SlickMcFavorite

With what you've told us so far (and especially with the new funding info) it seems like you like Austin the best -- go for it!

Originally posted in the freakout forum, but I guess this is the more appropriate one: Hi everyone, I've been reading this board throughout my application process and it's been super helpful. Kudos to this entire community. Having lurked on the forums for some time, I now have sufficient cause to post: My Story: I applied for Life Sciences PhD programs and was accepted to UC Davis, Scripps (Florida Campus) and the University of Miami. My Goal: Now, I'm from Florida (family and friends abound!) but I currently live in California (which, let's be honest, is a much cooler state). I'm pretty sure I'd like to "end up" in Florida (ie: establish a career there) and I'm having trouble figuring out which institution is most like to get me there. This may change during grad school, but at the moment I don't have a strong feeling one way or the other in regards to industry/academia. The Details: U Miami Has a good program, and though it isn't very highly ranked at the moment they're dumping a ton of money and recruiting some awesome new faculty. Very short commute UC Davis Has a well-ranked and respected program, but the connections I make (for potential postdoc work) may skew towards the west coast I will also have a 1 hour commute if I go here Finally, Scripps VERY highly ranked (according to US New and World report) but is a very small and very new biology PhD program I will also have a 1 hour commute if I go here Considerations: [*]If I attend U Miami, will it be more difficult to eventually find a permanent position in Florida (ie: do intitutions prefer "exotic" recruits from far away universities to diversify their program)? [*]Are US News and World Report rankings useful for anything? [*]How bad is a long commute while you're in grad school (I have a long commute to my current lab job, but I know the two experiences are quite different)? Any advice, ideas or irrelevant musings are most welcome!

I was applied to (and was accepted by) the Florida campus of the Scripps Research Institute -- their whole thing is "one school, two campuses". So, I would only be working with faculty from the Florida campus, but I'd take classes from both campuses (they have a fancy tele-classroom) and my degree would just say Scripps. I know Scripps is super well-respected in Chemistry, but I don't know much about the prestige of their biology division (which is where I'd be). The professors I met on the Florida campus were all pretty awesome, but I don't think any of them would count as widely known (yet!)

Did anyone see the movie Catfish? Seems like this woman is living it -- except stalking/defaming people instead of online-dating them It does give me hope, though. If this piece of work ever actually had a teaching appointment at a university, that bodes well for the rest of us who are even 10% sane.

akyl is right about contacting the schools you haven't heard from. For whatever perverse reason, schools will often have your decision and sit on it for a little while before informing you.

I've been accepted to four schools during this run of applications (I did the application gauntlet again this year after being resoundingly rejected by all schools last year) and suddenly, today, while walking through the hospital (the lab I work in now is connected to a hospital) I started thinking: "Oh, crap, maybe I should go to med school" I think it's natural to have big worries about any big decision -- it's totally normal (people freak out right before they get married too!). Personally, I think that you've gotten this far because of your interest in the field. Is it possible you don't love it enough to make a career of it? Of course it is, but you won't know until you try.

I'm intending to sort out the details with my girlfriend this weekend (she's applying to master's programs, I'm applying to PhD programs) and figure out where we'll both go by Monday the 9th. There are so many more factors to consider with two people, though. Gahh!!

Hi everyone, I've been reading this board throughout my application process and it's been super helpful. Kudos to this entire community. Having lurked on the forums for some time, I now have sufficient cause to post: My Story: I applied for Life Sciences PhD programs and was accepted to UC Davis, Scripps (Florida Campus) and the University of Miami. My Goal: Now, I'm from Florida (family and friends abound!) but I currently live in California (which, let's be honest, is a much cooler state). I'm pretty sure I'd like to "end up" in Florida (ie: establish a career there) and I'm having trouble figuring out which institution is most like to get me there. This may change during grad school, but at the moment I don't have a strong feeling one way or the other in regards to industry/academia. The Details: U Miami Has a good program, and though it isn't very highly ranked at the moment they're dumping a ton of money and recruiting some awesome new faculty. Very short commute UC Davis Has a well-ranked and respected program, but the connections I make (for potential postdoc work) may skew towards the west coast I will also have a 1 hour commute if I go here Finally, Scripps VERY highly ranked (according to US New and World report) but is a very small and very new biology PhD program I will also have a 1 hour commute if I go here Considerations: [*]If I attend U Miami, will it be more difficult to eventually find a permanent position in Florida (ie: do intitutions prefer "exotic" recruits from far away universities to diversify their program)? [*]Are US News and World Report rankings useful for anything? [*]How bad is a long commute while you're in grad school (I have a long commute to my current lab job, but I know the two experiences are quite different)? Any advice, ideas or irrelevant musings are most welcome!

I haven't been on one of these (yet -- my first is this weekend), so take my advice with a grain of salt. It seems like the best bet is to dress up nice, but don't wander way out of your comfort zone. I am usually a VERY casual dresser (jeans, T-shirt and sneakers FTW) but I'll stick with some black leather-looking shoes, some actual pants and a button down. In your case, some non-ripped pants or some kind of skirt-like contraption with a sweater or cardigan (that's a thing, right?) will probably serve you well. While it seems silly to worry about this kind of stuff, a lot of people interpret how you look to represent how serious you are about the program (ie: if she couldn't even bother to put on pants, why should I give her a shot?). Of course, there are plenty of professors who couldn't give a rat's ass what you look like -- but it seems like it's better to be safe than sorry.